Britain appealed on Tuesday to Russians to seek to end Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine which has left thousands of soldiers and civilians dead.
London minister Paul Scully stressed Ukraine was not at war with the Russian people.
He emphasised that US president Joe Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson had been “really resolute” to ensure the international community can bring Mr Putin to justice for war crimes being committed in Ukraine.
Speaking on Sky News, Mr Scully added: “We have got to remember as well, with all of this, this is Vladimir Putin’s war, the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine.
“It’s not the Russian people’s so we have got to make sure that we can appeal to the Russian people to bring an end to this.”
Thousands of Russians, including many women, have been arrested as they demonstrated in Moscow, St Petersburg and other cities against Mr Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova interrupted Russia’s most famous newsreader Ekaterina Andreeva, 60, on Kremlin-controlled Channel 1, to protest against the war.
Thousands of Russian soldiers have been killed during the four-week conflict, many of them young men who were reportedly not told they were going to war, with one unconfirmed report, citing Russian defence sources, putting the military death toll at close to 10,000 already.
Thousands of civilians have also been killed in Ukraine as towns and cities have been hit with heavy Russian shelling and air strikes, with many Ukrainian soldiers also dying as they fought to defend their country.
